Former KPMG exec take Southern Cross chairman role

A FORMER senior KPMG corporate finance executive has taken the chairman role at Southern Cross.

Christopher Fisher, who spent two years at KPMG as corporate finance chairman from 2004, has taken the non-executive role at the major UK care home operator.

Fisher spent most of his career at Lazard, where he was an MD, before joining KPMG.

He joined Southern Cross in 2006 as a non-executive. He takes over the chairman role from Ray Miles.

The group is currently in “regular and constructive” dialogue with its lenders who continue to be supportive, while it will shortly propose to landlords how its rent burden and capital structure might be reorganised.

Christopher Fisher, chairman of Southern Cross, said: “Ray has served as chairman for over three years and the board would like to record its genuine appreciation for his contribution to the company over this period,” said Fisher.

“Looking ahead, the board is focused on supporting [chief executive] Jamie Buchan and his executive team in promoting an orderly restructuring of the company’s affairs, to stabilise its financial position and to provide the business with a sustainable platform for the future while at the same time ensuring the continued delivery of high quality care for residents.”